The Artillery Defenders of Fort Gregg. 65
harshness of his suspicions, as well as in the fullness of his confi- dences. Such, however, are generally the concomitants of those ennobling qualities to be found in the fine-tempered organisms of the rare men we meet in life like John Bankhead Magruder.
BAKER P. LEE.
THE ARTILLERY DEFENDERS OF FORT GREGG.
NEW ORLEANS, August 20, 1891. MR. R. A. BROCK,
Secretary Southern Historical Society ',
Richmond, Va. :
DEAR SIR : I observe in the last volume of the Southern Historical Society Papers (XVIII) sent me several communications from General James H. Lane in reference to the actions of his brigade on different fields and and occasions, that the old question as to the defenders of Fort Gregg is again revived. The old question as to who the real defenders were " will not down " Mississippians, North Carolinians or Georgians ; and again the credit of the artillery is given to " Chew's Maryland battery."
General Lane in a letter to you dated September 17, 1890, writes {Southern Historical Magazine, Volume XVIII, page 80): "The true defenders at Fort Gregg were a part of Lane's North Carolina brigade, Walker" s supernumerary artillerists of A. P. Hill's corps, armed as infantry, and a part of ' Chew* s Maryland battery.'
" Harris' brigade and a few pieces of artillery occupied Fort Alex- ander (Whitworth), which was to the rear of Fort -Gregg and higher up the Appomattox; and that fort was evacuated, the infantry and artillery retiring to the inner line of works before Fort Gregg was attacked in force. I have letters from Lieutenants Snow, Craige, Howard and Rigler, who were in Gregg when it fell, and these offi- cers estimate the number of Harris' brigade in that fort at not more than twenty, including a Lieutenant-Colonel Duncan and his adjutant, while they estimate the numbers from my brigade to have been at least three-fourths the entire force."
